Vaccine Schedule for Babies and Toddlers: A Cheat Sheet for Parents
Are your baby's shots on track? Get to know the vaccine schedule from the CDC to make sure he's getting his vaccinations on time, and print a free version for your medicine cabinet.
Your baby will get up to 31 vaccinations by age 4, but it can be tough to track of all those shots. That's why the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) created a vaccine schedule to make sure your child is receiving vaccines on time and in a safe manner.
Take a look at the recommended vaccine schedule below, then print our version of the CDC vaccine chart. The 2020 CDC age-recommended vaccine schedule can be found here.
Vaccines at Birth
- Hepatits B (dose 1)
1-2 Months
- Hepatits B (dose 2)
2 Months
- Rotavirus (dose 1)
- Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis / DTaP (dose 1)
- Haemophilus influenzae type B / Hib (dose 1)
- Pneumococcal conjugate (dose 1)
- Inactivated poliovirus (dose 1)
4 Months
- Rotavirus (dose 2)
- DTaP (dose 2)
- Hib (dose 2)
- Pneumococcal conjugate (dose 2)
- Inactivated poliovirus (dose 2)
6 Months
- Rotavirus (dose 3)
- DTaP (dose 3)
- Hib (dose 3)
- Pneumococcal conjugate (dose 3)
- Begin annual influenza vaccination
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6 - 18 Months
- Hepatits B (dose 3)
- Inactivated poliovirus (dose 3)
12-15 Months
- Hib (dose 4)
- Pneumococcal conjugate (dose 4)
- Measles, mumps, rubella / MMR (dose 1)
- Varicella/ chicken pox (dose 1)
12-18 Months
- Hepatitis A (2 doses)
15-18 Months
- DTaP (dose 4)
4-6 Years
- Annual influenza vaccination
- DTap (dose 5)
- Inactivated poliovirus (dose 4)
- MMR (dose 2)
- Varicella/ chicken pox (dose 2)
11-12 Years
- Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (Tdap)
- Meningococcal (dose 1)
- HPV (3 doses)
- Annual influenza vaccination
16 Years
- Meningococcal (dose 2)
- Annual influenza vaccination
What happens if my child misses a vaccine?
If your child's vaccination schedule gets sidetracked, don't worry. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has a special "catch-up" schedule for missed doses—plus recommendations for travel and special situations—so your child shouldn't have to start over. But remember that even though it's possible for most children to make up missed vaccines, postponing your child's shots is still risky. Each month your baby goes without being vaccinated means she's not fully protected from serious, but very preventable, diseases.
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